Learning the lingo

LEARNING THE LINGO

Learning the lingo of horse racing can be quite intimidating, but your BFF* Betty is here to help you translate. The Best Fairy Flutter app is more than just a magic wand to help you choose your lucky horse, it also has some simple form information to help you pick a winner.

Let’s start off today, talking about the horses, the jockeys and the race.

THE HORSES

The horses are the stars of the show. Beautiful, majestic, and they love to run! Horses race from the age of two and typically run until they are seven or eight years old.

Boy horses are called geldings, stallions or colts (aged two or three).

Girl horses are fillies (three years or younger) or mares (four or older).

Some other terms you might hear around the track:

Foal – a baby horse is called a foal from the time it is born until 1 August of the next calendar year.

Maiden – a horse that’s yet to win a race

Yearling – a one-year old horse

Juvenile – a two-year old horse

Dam – the mother of a horse

Sire – the father of a horse

Stud – a male horse used for breeding

Broodmare – a female horse used for breeding

THE JOCKEYS

The jockeys are the people who ride the horses. The colours they wear are selected by the owner of the horse. The jacket and cap worn by the jockey are called silks. Jockey’s usually ride several races each race day. The jockey receives 5% of the prize money.

THE RACES

Races can be anywhere between 800m and 4,000m.

Most races are between 1,000 and 2,200m.

The races begin from the starting gates (also known as the barriers). Horses are allocated a barrier for the race. Generally speaking, it is better for a horse to draw a lower number barrier as it is closer to the running rail, which means the horse is likely to travel a shorter distance.

There are usually between 7 and 9 races each Race Day.

Best Fairy Flutter makes a magical day at the races ultra-easy. Next week, we’ll take a closer look at the different ways to pick a winner (if you do decide to over-rule your magic wand).